History of Idaho, the gem of the mountains, Volume I, Part 61

Author: Hawley, James Henry, 1847-1929, ed
Publication date: 1920
Publisher: Chicago, The S. J. Clarke publishing company
Number of Pages: 910


USA > Idaho > History of Idaho, the gem of the mountains, Volume I > Part 61


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80


The first permanent settlements were made near the Snake River, first at the Eagle Rock Ferry, which was established by Harry Ricketts in 1864 near the present northern boundary, and second where the City of Idaho Falls now stands. A wagon bridge over the Snake River at this point was built in 1865-66 by J. M. Taylor and Robert Anderson and a settlement soon afterward began to grow up about the bridge. James M. Taylor and his cousin, Samuel F. Taylor, came to this section of Idaho while it was still a part of Oneida County and the latter was elected sheriff of that county in 1884. Then Bingham County was created and he was elected to represent the new county in the council in the last Territorial Legislature. Mr. Taylor was also one of Bingham County's delegates to the constitutional convention in 1889.


Other early settlers were James Thomas, who was ordained bishop in the Mormon Church in 1885, and who was one of the first merchant tailors and clothing dealers in Idaho Falls; Carlyle J. Pelot, a man of French extraction, who brought a drove of horses from Wyoming and opened the first livery stable in Idaho Falls in July, 1879; and Addison V. Scott, a real estate man, whose wife was the first woman to be elected to the office of justice of the peace in Idaho.


Idaho Falls, the county seat, is at the junction of the main line of the Oregon Short Line Railroad from Salt Lake to Butte and the Yellowstone branch of the same system. The principal railroad stations in the county are Ammon, Colt- man, Iona and Ucon, and there are a number of small villages farther inland away from the railroad.


Grain farming, raising sugar beets and fruit, dairying and stock raising are the leading industries. Two national forests-the Caribou and Palisade-have an area of 467,352 acres in Bonneville County and furnish excellent grazing for the stock raisers near the Wyoming line. Heise Hot Springs, about twenty-five miles northeast of Idaho Falls, near the Jefferson County line, are rapidly grow- ing in favor as a health and pleasure resort. Bonneville County is proud of its


FFEE


RIVERSIDE SCHOOL, IDAHO FALLS


CENTRAL SCHOOL, IDAHO FALLS


625


HISTORY OF IDAHO


good wagon roads and its annual fair and "War-Bonnet Roundup," which is held in a park of sixty acres just south of Idaho Falls.


In 1910 the population of Bonneville County was included in the census enumeration of Bingham County. The assessed valuation of property in 1918 was $13,961,919, only nine of the forty-one counties of the state showing a larger property valuation.


BOUNDARY COUNTY


This is one of the new counties, created by the act of January 23, 1915, from the northern part of Bonner County and takes its name from the fact that it is the most northern county of Idaho, extending to the international boundary. The boundaries of the county, as defined in the organic act, are as follows: "Beginning at a point on the state line between the states of Idaho and Wash- ington where the same is intersected by the north line of township 63 north, range 5 west, Boise meridian; thence running east along said north line of town- ship 63 north, ranges 5 and 4 west, to the range line between ranges 3 and 4 west, Boise meridian; thence south along said range line to the southwest corner of township 60 north, range 3 west; thence east along said south line of town- ship 60 through ranges 3, 2 and I west and ranges 1, 2 and 3 east to the state line between the states of Idaho and Montana ; thence north along the said state line to the international boundary between the United States and the Dominion of Canada; thence west along said international boundary to its junction with the state line between the states of Idaho and Washington; thence south along said state line to the place of beginning."


These boundaries were so arranged as to leave Priest Lake all in Bonner County. By the provisions of the act the county seat was located at Bonners Ferry, the county was assigned to the eighth judicial district, and the governor was authorized to appoint officers within thirty days. Pursuant to the last named provision, Governor Alexander appointed the following county officers, to assume their respective duties on May 8, 1915: Don C. McColl, James Deyol and H. L. Shively, commissioners; J. V. Stanley, clerk of the district court ; J. A. Worley, sheriff; James C. Bush, assessor; W. B. Hawkins, treasurer; Charles O'Callaghan, probate judge ; Charles C. Heighton, prosecuting attorney ; J. H. Cave, surveyor; C. E. Moore, coroner; Margaret Moore, superintendent of public instruction.


The first settlement in the county was made at Bonners Ferry, an account of which is given in connection with that town in Chapter XXXV. The Kootenai River flows in a. northwesterly direction through the county, and through the valley of this river runs the Great Northern Railroad to Bonners Ferry, where the main line turns to the south and a branch follows the river into Canada. The Spokane & International Railroad also traverses the county, passing through Bonners Ferry. The principal villages along these railway lines are Copeland, Eastport, Lenia, Moravia, Naples and Porthill, and there are several minor stations hardly entitled to be called villages.


Farming and lumbering are the chief occupations. This section of the state has sufficient rainfall to enable the farmers successfully to follow their calling without the aid of irrigation. Stock raising is yet in its infancy in Boundary


Vol. I-40


626


HISTORY OF IDAHO


County, there being only 2,887 head of cattle and 12,159 sheep reported in 1917. And in 1918 the total valuation of property was $6,569,662.


BUTTE COUNTY


On February 6, 1917, Governor Alexander approved an act of the Legis- lature erecting the County of Butte out of parts of Blaine, Jefferson and Bing- ham counties. The county is bounded on the north by Lemhi and Fremont counties ; on the east by Fremont, Jefferson and Bingham; on the south by. Bing- ham and Blaine; and on the west by Custer County. By the provisions of the act the county was given one senator and one representative in the State Legis- lature; the county seat was located at Arco until the general election of 1918, when the voters were to determine the location of the permanent county seat ; the county was assigned to the sixth judicial district; and the governor was authorized to appoint county officers to serve until the next general election.


Governor Alexander appointed the following officers: R. W. Ferris, James King and Clarence King, commissioners; John T. Welch, auditor and recorder; William Matthews, assessor ; Alexander Macbeth, sheriff ; Freda Hein, treasurer ; L. M. Bresnahan, prosecuting attorney; Gus Bertsch, probate judge; Earl W. Fox, coroner; Louisa Pratt, superintendent of public instruction. These offi- cers assumed their duties on May 14, 1917, from which date the organization of the county was considered completed.


The Big Lost River flows through the central part of the county and farther east, between the Big and Little Lost River mountains, is the Little Lost River. ' Some fine farms are located in the valley of the Big Lost River, where irriga- tion has been introduced. Through this valley runs the Mackay branch of the Oregon Short Line Railroad, along which are the only towns of consequence, viz .: Arco, Darlington, Moore and Pioneer. Bernice, Howe and Sweet Sage in that part taken from Jefferson County, and Martin in the western part are small villages that serve as local postoffices and trading centers. In 1918 the village of Moore entered the contest for the county seat, but was defeated at the election by Arco, which was then made the permanent seat of government by the voters of the county. Butte County reported the smallest assessed val- uation of property of any county in the state in 1918, as shown by the report of the state board of equalization-$2,549,080.


CAMAS COUNTY


On the same day that Butte County was created (February 6, 1917), the western part of Blaine County was cut off and erected into Camas County, which takes its name from the Big Camas Prairie. The county is an irregular triangle, bounded on the north by Custer County; on the east by Blaine; on the south by Lincoln and Gooding; and on the west by the County of Elmore. Fairfield was declared to be the county seat by the act creating the county, which was given.one senator and one representative in the state legislature, assigned to the fourth judicial district and the governor was directed to appoint officers for the new county to serve until the general election of 1918.


The officers appointed by Governor Alexander and instructed to assume their duties on May 26, 1917, were as follows: E. D. Perkins, J. O. Couch and W. J.


CITY HALL, CALDWELL


CANYON COUNTY COURTHOUSE, CALDWELL


629


HISTORY OF IDAHO


Sonner, commissioners ; Nelson B. Higgs, auditor and recorder; C. L. Bach, sheriff ; Robert Price, treasurer ; Frank Croner, probate judge; J. W. Edgerton, prosecuting attorney ; Louis Walton, assessor; Dewitt P. Higgs, coroner ; Bessie L. Fletcher, superintendent of public instruction.


Big Camas Prairie, in the valley of the Malad or Camas Creek, has about three hundred thousand acres of land that can be farmed by either irrigation or dry farming methods. The soil of the prairie has a clay sub-soil which holds moisture, and this section has been called "the granary of Southern Idaho." For many years the leading crop was hay, but recently other crops have been intro- duced. The leading industries are farming and stock raising.


Transportation is furnished by a branch of the Oregon Short Line railway system, which runs between Richfield, Lincoln County, and Hill City, on the western border of Camas County. The stations along this railroad are Blaine, Corral, Fairfield, Hill City, Macon, Magic and Selby. The incorporated Town of Soldier, a short distance northeast of Fairfield, and Manard, on the Malad River, are important trading points. In 1918 the property of the county was assessed for tax purposes at $2,803,501.


CANYON COUNTY


On March 7, 1891, Governor Willey approved an act authorizing the county commissioners of Ada County to submit to the voters in the western part of the county the question of cutting off that portion of Ada County and erecting therein the County of Canyon. The question was accordingly submitted at the general election in 1892 and a majority of the votes were in favor of the new county.


As originally established, Canyon County included the present counties of Canyon and Payette and that part of Gem County lying south of the southern border of Washington County. Gem County was cut off in 1915 and Payette in 1917, reducing Canyon to its present dimensions. It is bounded on the north by Payette and Gem counties ; on the east by Ada County ; on the south by the Snake River, which separates it from Owyhee County; and on the west by the Snake River which here separates Idaho from Oregon. The county derives its name from the Snake River Canyon.


. One of the first settlers in this county was Garner Miner, a native of New Haven, Conn., who came to Idaho in 1861, nearly two years before the organi- zation of the territory. For awhile he followed mining at Florence and in the Illinois Gulch of the Boise Basin, where he took out about a thousand dollars a week, finally selling his claim for a good price. He then went to the lower Payette Valley and purchased 300 acres of Government land, which he developed into a fine farm and lived there until 1892, when he retired and spent the remain- ing years of his life in the City of Caldwell, the county seat of Canyon County from its organization.


Canyon is one of the best agricultural counties in Idaho, the average altitude being only about two thousand feet above sea level and the soil is of exceptional fertility. An item in one of the Caldwell newspapers of August 24, 1918, says : "Livestock, grain, potatoes and hay to the amount of 889 carloads and aggregat- ing $1,358,000 in valuation have been shipped out to the markets from the tribu- tary country during the past six months. Shipments of the remaining six months


630


HISTORY OF IDAHO


of the year will be vastly larger, since more grain, potatoes and live stock will be shipped out than during the first six months of the year."


Caldwell and Nampa are both cities of considerable size. The main line of the Oregon Short Line Railroad passes through those two cities. At Nampa branches leave the main line for Boise, Lakeport and Murphy, and the Wilder branch leaves the main line at Caldwell. Middleton and Notus are the most important villages. Minor railway stations are Bowmont, Greenleaf, Melba, Tendavis and Wilder.


In 1910, before Gem and Payette counties were cut off, the population was 25,323, Canyon then being the second county of the state in the number of inhabi- tants. In 1918 it stood sixth in the valuation of property, its assessment for that year being $18,420,120.


CARIBOU COUNTY


One of the three counties created by the Fifteenth State Legislature was Cari- bou County, the creating act being approved on February II, 1919, and Governor Davis shortly after naming a full list of county officers, D. K. McLean, Frank M. Butler and W. J. Chester being appointed commissioners; Kenneth Gorton, clerk of the district court; N. E. Snell, county attorney; L. P. Carr, probate judge; A. J. Gronewald, assessor; R. F. Hickey, treasurer; W. E. Donahoe, school superintendent, and Paul Tipton, sheriff. The county is 1,250 square miles in area, and has a population estimated at 3,500, with assessable prop- erty of value of $4,000,000. The county was taken from the western part of Bannock County and Soda Springs named as the county seat. Soda Springs was a favorite camping place of the trappers who visited the Northwest before emigrants began traveling across "the plains," and is frequently mentioned in the narratives of Captain Bonneville, John C. Fre- mont and other early day explorers, being commonly called "Beer Springs" by them. Soda Springs was a favorite resort of President Brigham Young and he is generally credited with starting the town and there he spent many summers. The name of the county is derived from Caribou Mountain, which in its turn was called after a man named Fairchilds, who was nicknamed "Caribou" from the mining camp of that name in British Columbia where he had formerly lived, and who on a prospecting trip to Southern Idaho, in company with a man named George Chapin discovered both placer and lode gold mining claims on the mountain they named "Caribou" and started a town called Keenan near the discoveries. This town had at one time a population of 1,000, as the mines looked promising, but development showed they were valueless and there is nothing left of the City of Keenan except a few deserted houses and the tradi- tion that it was once a lively place.


There is considerable farming done in Caribou County, but stock raising is the principal business of its people, the ranges being excellent and the sheep industry especially thriving. More wool is shipped from Soda Springs than from any other point in Idaho.


DEWEY PALACE HOTEL, NAMPA


-


DUBOIS BUSINESS CENTER


633


HISTORY OF IDAHO


CASSIA COUNTY


Cassia County is situated near the center of Idaho, its southern boundary being Utah and Nevada and its northern the Snake River. The territory com- prising the county was formerly a part of Owyhee County and as it was first created embraced the present county of Twin Falls.


The surface of the county, excepting the valleys of Raft River, Goose Creek, Cassia Creek and Little Basin, is generally rough and broken, sloping from its southern boundary to the Snake River. From the mountains in the southern portion spurs extend northward, the largest of these being known as the Goose Creek Mountains. The county 's traversed by Raft River, Goose Creek, Marsh Creek, Cottonwood and several smaller streams. The old Overland stage line from Kelton, Utah, to Umatilla, via Boise, ran entirely through Cassia County and settlements were commenced in several places along the stage line in the early '70s. About the same time Mormon colonies took up lands on Goose Creek and established the Town of Oakley, gradually settling all over the county. A little gold placer mining was done on the banks of the Snake River in Cassia County in the early days, but the principal business of the people has always been farming and stockraising. On the old road from Boise to Salt Lake City, in Cassia County, near the peculiar natural formation called "the City of Rocks" are still to be seen the remains of earthworks and rifle pits, where a train of emigrants was massacred by Bannock Indians under the leadership of Chief Poca- tello in 1862.


The act creating the county was passed in 1879, and under its provisions a special election was had that year and Albion in Marsh Creek Valley was chosen as the county seat. After the Twin Falls section was opened a branch railroad from Minidoka to Twin Falls City was constructed and this road left Albion ten miles from its nearest point. One of the Idaho normal schools was estab- lished at Albion in 1893, and has since been maintained at that point. An effort was made in 1912 to remove the county seat from Albion to Burley, but failed. In 1918 the attempt was again made and succeeded.


The principal towns of Cassia County are Albion, Burley, Keogh, Lovett, Marion, Elba, Oakley, Malta, Sublett and Starrh's Ferry. In 1910 the popu- lation of the county was 7,197, and in 1918 the assessed valuation of its prop- erty was $9,710,771. Most of the Minidoka National Forest Reserve lies within the county and affords good grazing facilities. In 1918 the county re- ported 19,333 head of cattle, and 69,142 head of sheep.


CLARK COUNTY


The first county organized at the fifteenth session of the Idaho Legislature was Clark County, the bill creating the county having been approved by the gov- ernor on February 1, 1919. This county was formed out of the northern and western part of Fremont County, and contains about half the area formerly em- braced in the last named county.


The permanent county seat of Clark County was located at the Village of Dubois. The county, for judicial purposes, under the act, was included in the Ninth Judicial District of the state.


634


HISTORY OF IDAHO


In accordance with the creating act, the governor, shortly after its approval, appointed county officers as follows :


County Commissioner-Joseph P. Jacoby of Dubois.


County Commissioner-Jas. Denning of Dubois.


County Commissioner-Christian P. Jensen of Kilgore.


Assessor-John W. Hays, Jr., of Dubois.


Auditor and Clerk-Caroline Allen of Spencer.


Treasurer-Bessie Meeker of Dubois.


Sheriff-Earl C. Mair of Dubois.


Probate Judge-A. P. Button of Dubois.


Prosecuting Attorney-Grant W. Soule of Dubois.


Superintendent of Schools-Fred Frederickson of Kilgore.


Surveyor-Daniel T. Murphey of Dubois.


Coroner-William A. Patt, of Humphrey.


The main business of the people of the new county is farming and stock raising, for both of which purposes its soil and its climate are particularly well adapted.


CLEARWATER COUNTY


A county called Clearwater was created by the Legislature in 1899, but be- cause of certain defects in the act that county was never fully organized. On February 27, 1911, Governor Hawley approved an act creating the County of Clearwater from the eastern part of Nez Perce County. It is bounded on the north by Shoshone County; on the east by the State of Montana; on the south by Idaho and Lewis counties; and on the west by Latah and Nez Perce coun- ties. The northern half of the county is devoted to lumbering, grazing and min- ing. In the valleys of the Clearwater River and its tributaries are rolling prairies of rich soil, where wheat yields from thirty to fifty bushels to the acre. Some of this land is irrigated and here general farming is carried on with great success. A large part of the Clearwater National Forest, which contains 822,700 acres, lies in this county and many ranchmen along the boundary of the reserve take advantage of the grazing opportunities offered by the Government.


The act creating the county assigned it to the second judicial and fourth sena- torial districts and designated Orofino as the county seat, although that town is situated on the Clearwater River near the western boundary, far from the cen- ter of the county. It was in this county that gold was first discovered in Idaho and the early history of the mining camps is given in another chapter.


Two lines of railroad pierce the county, both in the western part. A branch of the Northern Pacific follows the Clearwater River, passing through the towns of Ahsahka, Orofino and Greer, and Elk River is the terminus of a branch of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul system, with stations at Jersey and Neva. Away from the railroads the villages of Dent, Fraser, Pierce City, Teakean and Weippe are important trading points for farming communities. In 1918 the property valuation was $9,374,290.


CUSTER COUNTY


Custer County was formed under an act of the Territorial Legislature of date January 8. 1881, which provided that all that portion of "the counties of


635


HISTORY OF IDAHO


Lemhi and Alturas, and whatsoever others embraced within the following boun- daries, towit: (Then follows a long description of the boundary lines) shall be erected into a new county, to be known as Custer County."


The county was named in honor of Gen. George A. Custer, the dashing cavalry officer who was killed with his command, at the Battle of the Little Big Horn, on June 25, 1876. It is bounded on the north by Lemhi County; on the east by Lemhi and Butte; on the south by Butte, Blaine and Camas; and on the west by Boise and Idaho counties. Rugged both in surface and outline, Custer County contains some of the most picturesque scenery of Idaho. Along the southern border run the Sawtooth Mountains; farther east are the Lost River Mountains ; the northwestern part is touched by the Salmon River Mountains; the central part is an elevated plateau, where some of the finest grazing in the state is to be found. This plateau is drained by Salmon River and its branches and the south- eastern part is drained by the Big and Little Lost rivers. Near the eastern boun- dary the Pahsimeroi River flows in a northwesterly direction, emptying into the Salmon near the little Village of Ellis. Parts of four national forests are in Cus- ter County.


Probably the first white men to penetrate to the region now comprising Cus- ter County were those forming a prospecting party which came to the head- waters of the Salmon River in July, 1863. In this party was Frank R. Coffin, now president of the Boise City National Bank. In a basin near the foot of the Sawtooth Mountains they found "pay dirt" and named the place "Stanley Basin," after John Stanley, the oldest man in the party. The difficulty of getting in supplies and the danger from roving bands of Indians caused them to aban- don the basin and return to Idaho City.


About three years later another party of prospectors from Montana, under the leadership of a man named Richardson, ventured up the Salmon River until they reached the branch now known as Yankee Fork, but remained in the coun- try only a short time on account of being so far from any point where supplies could be obtained.


In 1869 prospectors from Lemhi County located rich placer mines on Loon Creek, north of the Stanley Basin, and within a short time several hundred miners, were engaged in washing out the yellow metal. A town was laid off, which in 1870 had a population estimated at fifteen hundred, but three years later it was entirely deserted. During the time the Loon Creek mines were worked over half a million dollars' worth of gold was taken out. Quartz mining was introduced about 1875; Bonanza City was platted in 1877 and the next year A. P. Challis and others laid off the Town of Challis. Up the Salmon River about ten miles from Challis the Bay Horse Mining District came into prominence and in 1880 a twenty-five ton smelter was built there, which treated the ores from the adjacent mines. There is still some mining carried on in the county, though farming and stock raising have become the leading occupations. In 1917 Custer reported 25,466 cattle, 5,094 horses and 85,060 sheep, only three counties in the state returning a larger number of cattle and six a larger number of sheep. The assessed valuation of property for 1918 was $3.493,639.


The act creating the county named James M. Shoup, of Challis ; J. S. P. Rob- inson, of Custer City; and Enos Watson, of Bonanza City, as special county


636


HISTORY OF IDAHO


commissioners to hold an election on the third Monday in June, 1881, for the election of county officers and the location of a permanent county seat. Challis was chosen as the county seat, which distinction it has retained until the present time. Mackay, in the Big Lost River Valley in the southeastern part of the county, is the principal town, by virtue of its being the terminus of a branch of the Oregon Short Line Railroad which connects with the main line at Black- foot. Other stations on the branch are Huston and Leslie. In the interior the villages of Clayton, Dickey, Goldburg, Bonanza and Stanley are trading centers for farming districts. The population in 1910 was 3,001, the smallest of any county in the state at that time.




Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.